Now that winter is winding down and spring is not far off, just about everything concerning fishing and hunting is changing.

Ice fishing soon will give way to open-water fishing. Hunters soon will start thinking about spring gobbler hunting and forget about the late small-game seasons and coyote hunting.

Ice fishing typically is best either through early ice or through late ice. In both cases, anglers must contend with questionable ice conditions. Ice fishing has been borderline in one way or another all through this winter at Presque Isle Bay. Only for a short time were anglers on the main body of the bay, and then only at the head of the bay and on ice that could hardly be termed safe.

Now the only ice fishing at Presque Isle Bay is at Misery Bay, where some very nice perch have been caught through the past week.

But getting to those perch requires getting over very poor ice along the shoreline. Even if you can get out onto thicker ice, there is a distinct chance that getting back on shore might be much more difficult, if not impossible, without getting wet. This might be a relatively minor problem if the only part of the body getting wet were the feet. But just a few more feet of bad ice might mean going into water over your head.

Speaking with Al Nacopoulos, owner of BAC Bait and Tackle, for the fishing report last week, he said, "It's not worth it."

And that is coming from a man whose store makes little money if people don't go fishing.

Elsewhere, I heard that chances of catching big perch at Misery Bay improve as the ice fisher gets closer to open water. That, my friends, is crazy. If a person breaks through the ice in this situation, the odds are high that death will follow. For what? A few perch?

Ice might be better at other places, but in any case, keep in mind that when days start to get warm the ice is melting.

Since crappie fishing at Presque Isle Bay was good virtually all through summer, I figured that ice fishing for crappie would be very good.

Typically, crappie fishing gets slow during summer. Good summertime fishing generally is an indication of a very good crappie population.

But it didn't happen.

I was reminded that there was no ice on the parts of the bay where crappie fishing usually is good, so maybe the poor winter crappie fishing meant nothing.

Odds are very good that once boats get onto the bay, fishing for crappie will be good. That also should be the case with perch. It will not be long before the boat launches and routes to the usual spring fishing hot spots will be free of ice.

Crappie fishing at Pymatuning Lake came to a virtual halt last fall because the water level was too low to launch boats at the north end of the lake. Then, during winter, ice conditions were not good. There, we also can anticipate good crappie fishing once we can get boats on the water.

Other good news at Pymatuning involves walleye.

Long known as one of the better walleye lakes in the country, walleye fishing has been disappointing for a few years. Indications point to improved walleye fishing this year. Unlike most Pennsylvania lakes, walleye fishing is allowed all year at Pymatuning, so that might happen soon.

Some confusion exists about what is and what is not allowed concerning fishing for trout in area lakes and ponds.

There have been changes in regulations, and whenever this happens confusion follows. A phone call to region headquarters revealed that all answers to such questions can be found in the regulations summary or on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's website.

Specified waters are designated as Approved Trout Waters Open to Year-Round Fishing. These waters are open to fishing from March 1 to the opening day of regular trout season. However, trout may not be taken or possessed during this period. Local lakes with this designation are East Basin Pond, West Basin Pond, Lake Pleasant, Upper Gravel Pit, Tionesta Creek from the Tionesta Dam outflow to the mouth, Two Mile Run Reservoir and Chapman Dam Reservoir.

Several others area waters are open to year-round trout fishing under other special regulations. A 1.4-mile section of Caldwell Creek, in Warren County, is designated as Catch and Release Fly Fishing Only. A 3.6-mile section of West Branch Caldwell Creek is designated as Catch and Release. A 1.7-mile section of East Hickory Creek in Forest County, and two sections, one 1.6 miles and the other 1 mile, of Oil Creek are designated as Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only. Creel regulations may differ.

The Allegheny River, for 8.75 miles from the Kinzua Dam to the mouth of Conewango Creek, is listed under Miscellaneous Special Regulations. Trout fishing is allowed year-round, but from Sept. 3 to 3 a.m. on the opening day of the trout season of the following year no trout may be killed or had in possession.

MIKE BLEECH can be reached by e-mail at mikeb73@verizon.net. Read more of his columns at nwpaoutdoors.com.

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